


For You Will Be My Love

by BreatheSymphonies



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Culinary graduate Zuko, Depression, Drug Use, Drunk Driving, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Fluff, I swear this story won't be super depressing the whole time, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Probably smut in the future, Psychology major Katara, Rating May Change, Rehabilitation, Soulmates, Therapy, but it will get fluffy and stuff after ch. 1 and 2, the first two chapters are super angsty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 21:22:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16626647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreatheSymphonies/pseuds/BreatheSymphonies
Summary: Wash away my memorySwimming through infinity, for you will be my loveSometimes when I'm falling in my dreamsI can feel you falling next to meI guess we're going everywhere togetherZuko used to wonder about his soulmate a great deal when he was young. Ever since his mother had explained to him and his sister, Azula, that there was someone special out there for everyone he thought about who they could be and what they were like. When she explained that the first experience with his soulmate would be through his dreams he couldn’t wait until bedtime. He wanted to connect with them.When Katara’s grandmother taught her and her brother, Sokka, about soulmates she couldn’t wait to meet hers. She wanted to have dreams about her soulmate and feel a connection with someone that was specifically for her. She couldn’t wait to be head over heels in love with someone like her parents.





	1. We Fly Like Birds And Our Sky Is Boundless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I have wanted to write a multi chapter Zutara fic for YEARS, but never got around to it. I've also wanted to write a soulmate au for just as long, so now I'm doing both! 
> 
> Buckle up kids because the first two chapters are angsty as hell! This chapter is Zuko's back story up to present day.

Zuko used to wonder about his soulmate a great deal when he was young. Ever since his mother had explained to him and his sister, Azula, that there was someone special out there for everyone he thought about who they could be and what they were like. When she explained that the first experience with his soulmate would be through his dreams he couldn’t wait until bedtime. He wanted to connect with them. 

The dreams never actually showed one’s soulmate, but rather their emotions or sounds from memories. They could feel joy, sadness or any other emotion in their dreams from something their soulmate had experienced. Zuko would see mostly colors swirling around while feeling happiness from his soulmate. He would sometimes hear a woman singing while bright beautiful blues and silver would flow around him. These dreams helped him feel happy even when his homelife was not.

The older he got the harder it was for his mother to hide her sadness and contempt for his father. His father never seemed like a loving man and he only got more cruel as the years went on. He was an alcoholic that would fly off the handle at any moment. They would never know what would set him off and Zuko was terrified of him.

When Zuko was ten he had asked his mother if she was sure his father was her soulmate. His dreams were always so happy, he couldn’t believe that one’s soulmate could be cruel to the other. She had assured him he was, but explained that being soulmates didn’t mean their romance was a fairytale one. That was the night he learned that even soulmates could hate each other. 

She had had a bottle of wine and began to tell Zuko that she wished she had found another man to love before meeting his father. She wished that someone else could have been his father. A more loving man. She apologized for marrying him and having children with him even when he showed signs of being a cruel man early on. He had always liked to drink, but it wasn’t a problem until the kids were born and he got a promotion that was a very demanding job. She wanted so badly to believe that being soulmates meant true love, but it didn’t. It only meant they were connected to each other. She apologized over and over to Zuko until she passed out on the couch that night.

Where Zuko hated his father and would say he was a bad man, Azula would always defend him. Zuko believed she didn’t want to see their father as a bad man. He knew she wanted to love their father in the hopes that she could change him and that she would receive his love and approval. She would lash out at him and their mother whenever they said anything negative about him. She would do anything he asked of her just for a little praise. Zuko never did that and he would often be scolded for not being like his sister. His father never hit them or their mother, but he would verbally abuse them in his drunken tirades.

He always called Zuko weak and would ridicule him for not being as strong as his sister. He would scream about him not having grades as good as Azula and would say he’d never be a real man if he let a woman be better than him. This would push Azula to be even better. She was hurt by his words on how a woman should be second best, but she never wanted to be the one receiving his harsh words. So she continued to make sure she was better than Zuko in her father’s eyes.

His mother got more distant and withdrawn as time went on. One night he tried for an hour to get her out of her bed, but she just laid there. His father had blown a gasket when he arrived home to no dinner on the table. He trashed the kitchen, the living room and their room. He had pulled Ursa out of the bed and threw her onto her knees in the kitchen and demanded she make dinner. Her simple reply had been, “But dear there are no more plates to serve you on.”

He had cursed her out and left the house again to head back to the bar. Zuko had been crying, but she hugged him, told him she loved him and sent him to bed. No one had eaten dinner that night.

The next morning his mother was gone. He was eleven. She never arrived home and his father only filed a missing persons report because his kids wouldn’t stop crying. 

They never did find her, but Zuko was convinced his father didn’t care enough to keep looking. He never blamed his mother for leaving, but he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t some resentment there for leaving him and Azula behind. He knows Azula has never forgiven her.

Zuko had hoped his father would be there for them a little more due to the absence of their mother, but it was their Uncle Iroh that showed up to care for them after their mother left. 

Ozai had never cared for his brother and didn’t want him around, but the only other alternative was for him to be a caring father and everyone knew that would never happen. Iroh had lost his own son tragically in a botched robbery at a convenience store a few year earlier, so he wasn’t going to let Ozai’s children be without a parental figure and treated them as his own. 

Zuko loved his Uncle and sometimes wished he was his father instead. He could never believe they were brothers. He would never understand how one was so cruel and the other was so loving. He would beg Iroh to stay instead of leaving for the night, but they both knew Ozai would never allow it.

Once Zuko turned thirteen his father decided he was old enough to take care of things at home and stopped allowing Iroh to come over. Zuko was forced to look after his eleven year old sister and cook dinner for the family. His father’s drinking had only gotten worse and he’d become more belligerent. 

One night, shortly before his birthday, Zuko burnt dinner and his father went on one of his rampages and threw the whole meal on the floor. Zuko had had enough and lashed out at his father before he could think about what he was doing. His father stormed over to him by the stove, picked up a pan with hot oil in it and threw it at Zuko’s face, burning the left side around his eye. That was the first time he had ever physically harmed one of them. His sister had to call an ambulance because his father was too drunk to drive them.

Child services had been called because they didn’t believe Zuko’s story that he’d slipped and fallen with the pan in his hand and accidently burned himself. His father had been arrested on child abuse charges and Zuko was relieved, but also terrified. He couldn’t admit what his father had done out of fear, but if he did, him and Azula would be free. He was sure his father would go away long enough for them to become adults, or he had hoped it would work out that way. 

When he was finally released from the hospital his fourteenth birthday had passed. He was released into Iroh’s custody and him and Azula started living with him. 

Their father had bonded out, but he could have no contact with any of them. Zuko was sure he wouldn’t have made contact even if he could. There was no remorse there for what he had done. He was sure he wouldn’t even show remorse at the trial. He wasn’t the kind of man to grovel or ask for forgiveness. 

Zuko would get sick every time he thought of the upcoming trial. It was only a week away and even though what he was going to say would put his father away, he was still terrified of the man and the repercussions. Azula had convinced herself it was an accident and fought with Iroh every time he tried to make her see the truth. Zuko could only hope that she would see the truth when she got older. She was a scared child trying to survive this horrible life, so he couldn’t blame her for what she made herself believe. She was only twelve and was afraid of losing her other parent, even if he was a drunk and abusive piece of shit. Zuko could only hope she could one day forgive him and possibly thank him for taking their father away from them.

That hope died two nights later when their father made sure he was going away for a very long time. He had gone to a bar even though he was prohibited as part of the agreement of his bond. He had gotten drunk, three times over the legal limit, ran a red light and struck another vehicle. The woman driving the other vehicle was killed instantly. 

After that Zuko told the court everything. He didn’t hold back one bit about the years of verbal, mental and finally physical abuse his family suffered at the hands of his father and his drinking. His drinking had finally killed someone and it was an innocent mother of two. He didn’t attend that trial because he couldn’t face her family. His father was a monster and should have been the one to die instead of the woman. 

Between the child abuse charges and the DUI vehicular manslaughter charges, their father was done for. With the amount of years he got between both crimes he would most likely die in prison. Zuko would never have to see him again.

Sadly, he couldn’t enjoy his relief of never seeing his father again. Mainly because of the reasoning behind it, but also because around the same time of the accident he started having dreams filled with grief and heartache. He had been so used to happiness, singing and swirling light blue and silver, but now all he had were dreams of crying, feelings of sorrow and dark blue swirls. He wasn’t the only one full of sadness anymore. He wished he could find his soulmate and comfort them. He could deal with his own pain, but he didn’t want his soulmate to have go through pain of their own.

As the years went on, the depression in his dreams slowly turned to anger. He started seeing red creep into the blue, turning it purple. He didn’t like the purple. It was full of hurt and rage. Then he started seeing a lighter purple and feeling numbness. He was happy the blue was making more of a comeback, but the empty feeling that accompanied it made him worry. He wanted to save his soulmate from their dejection, but had no idea how to even start looking for them. 

When he was eighteen and in his first week of college he had the most vivid soulmate dream he had ever had. He was surrounded by the darkest blue he’d ever seen, it was almost black. He had felt like he was sinking and realized he was surrounded by water. He had never felt anything other than emotions in his dreams before. Suddenly he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was drowning. He could hear screaming and crying and was suddenly pulled up from the water. 

He woke up gasping for air and clutching his sheets to get a hold of his surroundings. He had scared his roomate half to death, but was forgiven when he explained it was a bad soulmate dream. They had had a similar experience when their soulmate was in a car accident the year before. 

He was shaken up for a couple of days after because he hadn’t had another dream after that one. Was his soulmate okay? Would he know if they were seriously injured? He was so worried.

Thankfully that night he had a dream which let him know they were alive. It wasn’t a very good dream though. It was muted blue swirls with feelings of embarrassment and remorse. He wondered what happened for them to feel that way, but he was just relieved to know they were okay.

Being in college really helped Zuko. He was in a new environment learning new things. He decided to become a culinary major because cooking was the one thing he did enjoy during those awful years after his mother had left. He wasn’t going to let what his father did to him stop him from doing what he loved. 

His Uncle now had his own tea shop not far from campus that also served some food. Zuko would work there part time to help his Uncle out while also getting kitchen experience. He would insist his Uncle didn’t have to pay him because of everything he had done for him and his sister, but Iroh wouldn’t let him work for free. 

His relationship with Azula was still strained even as she became an adult and he finished college. She never did forgive him. She blamed him for everything. She said him agreeing to testify caused their father to get drunk because of his shame for his weak son and cause the accident. Zuko never argued with her. He stilled believed she’d come around some day.  
The second she turned eighteen she left Iroh’s house, moved in with a friend and started an all girl punk band. The last update he had gotten on his sister was that she was still living with her friend Mai and working at a coffee shop, but he isn’t too sure these days. 

It’s been two years since he’s seen his sister. He hopes she’s well, but he is focused on putting his culinary degree to good use and becoming a successful chef to pay back Iroh for everything he had done for him. He never would have been able to afford college without his Uncle. He never would have had this promising future without him. He may not have been able to continue to look for his soulmate without him. He owes his Uncle everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> Next chapter will be Katara's backstory up to present! I'll probably have that one up pretty soon!
> 
> Fic title is from "Rainy Girl" by Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness  
> Chapter title is from "A Map A String A Light Pt. 2" by Yvette Young


	2. We Drift Like Ghosts, We Are Lost, I Am Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _She finally thought to herself, “What would my mother think?”_
> 
> _That’s what hurt the most. Knowing her mother would be so ashamed of her behavior. She raised Katara better than this. That was Katara’s wake up call._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter and left kudos and comments! <3
> 
> This is Katara's backstory to present! Hope you enjoy!

When Katara’s grandmother taught her and her brother, Sokka, about soulmates she couldn’t wait to meet hers. She wanted to have dreams about her soulmate and feel a connection with someone that was specifically for her. She couldn’t wait to be head over heels in love with someone like her parents. 

They were perfect for each other. They were the perfect team. Of course they had their arguments, but it was never anything too serious. They made sure to discuss any big decisions they would make and made sure their family came first. 

Her father worked out of town a lot, but he never neglected his family. He was always excited to come home to his wife and kids. His mother would greet him with an affectionate smile and kiss.

Katara would always hear her mother singing in the kitchen while she played in the living room or did her homework at the dining room table. It made her feel happy and safe.

Katara’s soulmate dreams were always filled with swirling colors of red and yellow. There was anger and fear with lots of yelling in these dreams. She would often wake up scared and would go crawl into bed with her mother. She would tell her mother about the dream and her mother would wrap her arms around her and kiss her forehead. She would say that not everyone has a good homelife and that one day Katara would be able to comfort them and help ease their fear and anger.

When Katara was nine, her dreams changed. They became dark blue with a tinge of red and yellow on the outskirts. There was still the anger and fear, but now mostly melancholy and a tiny bit of resentment. There was crying now on top of the yelling with a soothing male voice every once in a awhile. Katara was grateful to whoever had the soothing voice, because it helped her soulmate feel better. These type of dreams went on for a while. 

When Katara was eleven they changed again. This time agony replaced the sadness and the fear and anger came back in a fury. Her dreams were now a bright fire of orange, yellow and red. She felt searing pain on her face like something hot had been thrown on it and would wake up hysterically crying. Her mother would comfort her like she always had and reassure her that one day she was going to give her soulmate all the love they deserved. 

When Katara was twelve her happiness was ripped away from her. She’ll never forget waking up to her father’s screaming anguish. His sobs shook her to her core. When she rushed to him to ask what was wrong her grandmother took her hand, led her to the couch and sat her down next to Sokka who had also been woken up by their father’s cries. She had tears in her eyes also, but held her composure long enough to tell them the terrible news about their mother.

Some awful man had been driving drunk, ran a red light and slammed right into the driver’s side of their mother’s car. Her mother had died instantly. 

Katara’s world had shattered. She no longer heard her mother’s singing, only her father’s crying. She no longer had her mother to climb into bed with, though she didn’t need it anymore due to her soulmate dreams no longer being filled with rage or fear. They were filled with a little bit of worry now and again, but mainly the emotions were content these days. Sometimes she would wonder if her and her soulmate had switched roles. Now she was the one filled with sorrow and anger.

Eventually she just had anger inside of her. Her father wouldn’t rush home from his work trips out of town anymore. Her grandmother mostly took care of her and Sokka. She was angry that he seemed happier when he wasn’t home. She was tired of being depressed over her mother’s death and built up a rage towards the man the took her away from her family. She was irritable all the time and would snap at everyone. Her grandmother begged her to go speak with someone because it was obvious that she was still harboring a lot of feelings over her mother’s death years later. She refused and said it was just teen angst. That all teenagers were like this, she were just old.

She started hanging out with the wrong crowd in high school. They were equally as angry about things in their lives and they never told her she needed help or that she needed to calm down and move on. They told her they found other ways to cope instead of seeing some shrink. 

She was fifteen the first time she tried any type of drug. She started smoking weed and liked how it made her feel, but she hated the smoke and coughing all the time. Plus she wasn’t a fan of having to find ways to hide the smell from her family. Sokka caught her once and gave her a lecture about his disappointment in her, but didn’t rat her out. She was sure he had his own ways of coping so he let hers slide. 

Her friends eventually introduced her to pills. She liked Oxycontin. She liked how it made her feel and there was no smoke or smell. Soon she was blowing all her money from her part time cashier job to buy pills. If she was short on cash she’d steal some from her grandmother’s purse. 

That should have been a red flag to her, but she was so far gone that she didn’t even think twice about taking cash from her grandma for drugs. She was finally numb from all her fury and sadness. She hadn’t felt this good in years and she’d be damned if someone was going to take this feeling away. 

Katara was sixteen when she almost died. It had been an accident, but it took a lot of convincing to make people believe it wasn’t an attempted suicide.

She had taken more Oxy than usual because she felt like what she usually took wasn’t cutting it anymore and she was having a shit day. She just wanted to feel numb again. She decided to take a soothing bath too hoping the little extras would help take the edge off. 

She had felt so warm and so calm in the bathtub that she closed her eyes for a minute to relax. What she didn’t know was that minute turned into several minutes and the extra oxy had caused her to drift to sleep in the tub. She slid further into the bathtub until she was submerged completely. 

Sokka had started banging on the door with annoyance because she’d been in the bathroom forever. He was yelling for her to hurry up, but never got a response. He isn’t sure what set off red flags for him, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and started banging louder and yelling louder, but still never got a response. Panic set in and he just barged into the bathroom. Thankfully the door was unlocked and when he opened it he saw Katara passed out under the water.

He screamed for his grandmother and father as he yanked Katara from the tub. He threw a towel over her and immediately started cpr as his dad called for an ambulance. She had spit up some water but was still unconscious.

When Katara woke up in the hospital she was perplexed. How did she get there? Why was she there? She looked around the room and saw her family. She tried to speak but her mouth was so dry and her throat hurt. They all rushed to her bedside, someone giving her water and caressing her hair. When she was more alert and able to talk, the doctor arrived and asked her some questions.

She was confused at first because he asked if she had tried to commit suicide. She answered no, but no one looked convinced. She didn’t understand why they were asking until they told her that she passed out from the drugs she took and almost drowned in the bathtub. She then had to vehemently explain that she was not trying to kill herself, that she had just taken too much and fell asleep. When they seemed convinced the doctor laid off a bit but still recommended therapy and rehab. 

She couldn’t look at her father or grandmother. They were so disappointed in her and she was extremely embarrassed. She was also sorry for worrying them and stealing from her grandmother. That was probably the worst part. Letting down her grandmother like that.

She finally thought to herself, “What would my mother think?”

She had spent so long being angry over her mother’s death that she never thought about what her mother would have wanted. Her mother would have wanted her to move on and live her life to the fullest. She wouldn’t want her to be angry or taking drugs. Her mother would want her to remember the time she had with her and become a better person. She would be so ashamed of Katara. 

That’s what hurt the most. Knowing her mother would be so ashamed of her behavior. She raised Katara better than this. That was Katara’s wake up call.

When she got out of the hospital she went straight to rehab and therapy. She changed schools to get away from all the bad influences in her life. He father told her she didn’t have to, but she wanted to start fresh. She didn’t hate her old friends, but she knew she couldn’t be around them if she wanted to move on and heal emotionally and mentally.

It ended up being the best decision she ever made. She would volunteer a lot for school functions to keep her busy. She met Aang and Toph, who became her best friends and brought even more positivity and support into her life. She would still have bad days once in awhile and they were always there for her. 

Her and Sokka became closer too. They had never really sat down and talked about how their mother’s death affected them. Katara had realized how strained their relationship had become over the years and actually asked him to join her during one of her sessions. He had agreed and it ended up being the best thing the two of them could have done. They learned a lot about each other during that session and it helped them work through the issues that had caused them to drift apart over the years. 

They eventually convinced their dad to join them for family therapy. It was tough and there was a lot of crying, but it brought them all together again. She was happy to be acting like a family again instead of them all walking around like shells of themselves. It took a few years, but Katara was finally where she needed to be.

When it came time to declare a major in college, she chose Psychology. She used to spend a lot of time with her guidance counselor in high school and knew she wanted to help children the same way her counselor had helped her, so her focus was education psychology. She knew it would be a lot of schooling, but she had never felt more passionate about something.

Her life had been full of sadness and pain for so long between her soulmate dreams and her own misfortunes, but now at twenty years old, her life is full of hope with a promising future. Her soulmate dreams were no longer fearfully angry and fiery red. They were still red, but a rich red with the feeling of optimism and warmth. It made her happy to know that her soulmate was also in a more positive atmosphere. She hadn’t really thought of her soulmate much after her mother died, but these days when she wakes up from a peaceful dream she can’t wait for the day she meets them and finally places all the puzzle pieces of a happy life together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Next chapter the real story will begin!


	3. I Can't Wait To Meet You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story begins for our soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY! I had planned on updating so much sooner than this, but season has been kicking my ass! We have been so much busier than I thought we'd be and my schedule has been all crazy. Then I got news at work that I'm being transferred to a new branch the start of the new year, so that's kinda turning my life upside down because it's a change I didn't want, but I'm hoping for the best.
> 
> So yeah, again I'm sorry for the delay. Also this chapter is shorter than the others, but I wanted to update and get the real story going. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Zuko yawned and dragged a hand down his face as he opened his locker in the breakroom. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and it had been a busy day at his Uncle’s tea shop. He grabbed his keys and wallet and made his way to the front of the shop.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” He asked as he walked past Iroh.

“No, my nephew. You’ve already stayed an hour later than you were supposed to.” His uncle replied.

“I wasn’t doing anything today other than grocery shopping, so I have plenty of free time to stay and work.”

“No, you’ve worked enough. Let the other guys earn their paychecks here. Plus if I start letting you rack up overtime, they’ll claim I’m playing favorites.”

“But I am your favorite.” Zuko smirked.

“Get out of here. Go get some sleep.” Iroh ignored his comment and waved him away. Zuko let out a chuckle and walked out the door with a wave.

His uncle could always tell what kind of mood he was in or if he’d gotten enough sleep. The second he’d walked into the tea shop that morning his uncle had asked if it was his soulmate dreams keeping him awake. He was right. Zuko had woken up several times that night due to the stress and worry coming through his dreams. 

He was sure it was his soulmate’s schoolwork that was driving them mad. He had just finished with the type of stress and worry he was getting from the dreams. He would also get flashes of textbooks and laptop screens. He wasn’t sure if he could, but he would try to send positive and calming vibes to them. He wanted them to know they were okay and to not stress out so much. He really wished he could be there in person to help out.

_Someday_ , he told himself. He’d be able to comfort and support his soulmate someday. Today though, he’ll be going to the grocery store and then to bed.

 

Katara had about as much as she could take with her school work. She’d been at it for days trying to get all the information she needed for her research paper. Why did this one seem so hard? Even with all the information she’d gotten, she was still having a hard time laying it out. 

Sokka had gotten tired of her sighs and aggravated grunts and told her to take a break before he left for work. She would have ignored him like she usually did, but this was really getting to her. She hadn’t had much sleep the last few days and the only real reason she had gotten any at all was because she passed out at the table from exhaustion and a calming vibe was coming through her dreams. She’d woken up a few time from a stiff neck, but she did feel a lot less stressed out after waking up. She would smile at the thought of her soulmate trying to help her in some way. She had only hoped she wasn’t keeping them up as well.

Taking Sokka’s advice, she decided to step away from it all and find something to eat. Sadly, when she opened the fridge, there wasn’t much there. Her brother and her had been so busy lately that neither of them had been to the grocery store recently. If Suki were to stop by and see the sad state of their fridge, she’d freak. Katara really didn’t want her brother’s girlfriend to go shopping for them when she didn’t even live with them. 

_Yet._ She thought. She was sure it would happen soon. Suki was at the apartment any time her and Sokka had free time together between their jobs. They were so in love and made a great team just like her parents had. Katara could only hope for the same thing with her soulmate when she met them. With a sigh, she closed the fridge and got ready to head out.

It took a couple of tries and some pleading for her car to turn over and start. She really needed Sokka to look at it, but they didn’t even have food to eat, let alone time for Sokka to tell her why she’d been having issues with her car lately.

She made it there with no problems and got the essentials for quick and simple, yet healthy meals to cook. If she left it up to Sokka, he’d just pick up crap you microwave to save time that has no nutritional value. 

After loading everything into her trunk, she got in and turned her key.

Nothing. She blinked once and tired again.

Nothing.

“No. Oh no no no no no. Not right now car! I need you to work! UGH!” She finally yelled after trying several times to no success. She could not get it to turn over. 

She flung the door open with an annoyed grunt and got out. She made it to the front of the car before remembering she had to pop the hood. She let a few curses fly as she walked back to do so.

When she finally opened the hood, she stared for a minute before she realized she had no idea where to even start. She had no idea why it wasn’t starting and no idea how to find out why it wasn’t starting. She yelled in aggravation and pouted before she felt someone’s presence nearby.

“Hey, do you need some help?” A man asked. When she heard his voice, she had a weird feeling bloom in her chest. She turned to him to reply, but the second she made eye contact with him she felt like she’d been punched right in the chest.

 

Zuko had finally finished his shopping and couldn’t wait to go home and lie down. He had just finished loading up his car when he heard someone yell from their car. He turned and saw a woman walking towards the front of her car before abruptly turning around to curse some more and reach into her car to pop her hood.

He contemplated on whether he should leave or not for a moment, but something inside him was yelling to go help her. He wasn’t sure why he felt he needed to go over to this woman so bad, but he decided he couldn’t leave knowing someone was having car troubles that he may be able to help them with. He made his way over to the vehicle and heard her yell out in irritation. 

Upon hearing that he asked, “Hey, do you need some help?”

The second she came into view he felt an odd stirring in his chest. When she made eye contact with him he felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs.

They both blinked rapidly at each other while gasping for air. Zuko backed up into the car behind him to lean on while Katara braced herself on the fender of her car. 

Slowly their breathing returned to normal, but the emotions they were both feeling within their chests were overwhelming. Katara had goosebumps all over her body and tears in the corner of her eyes. 

She finally looked up at the man to see him staring at her wide eyed. The second their eyes connected again she knew exactly what had just happened. With her eyes glued to his, the weight in her chest died down to a lingering feeling of wanting to get closer to him.

She straightened herself up and stared at him. He was still leaning on the car wide eyed and staring at her. His hand on his chest and breathing heavily. 

She had known what it’d be like from Sokka and Suki explaining it, but she never knew it’d be that intense. She’ll have to scold them later for downplaying it.

She was the first to speak. “No one has ever explained to you what happens, have they?”

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. “When what happens?”

She chuckled at him and said, “When you meet your soulmate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient with me and for reading this story. I'm going to try and get another update out soon, but I have no idea what my new job location is like and they're open longer hours so it may take some time getting used to my new routine. Please continue to be patient with me! 
> 
> Let me know what you think of our otp's first interaction!


	4. And I Can't Wait To Hear Your Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our soulmates finally get to chat a little bit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! I'm sooooooo sorry everyone. As you can imagine, my unwanted transfer at work did NOT go over well. I've been so sad since the transfer. I REALLY miss my old location and my old coworkers and I've just been having a hard time with everything so I haven't been writing. Good news is I have an interview for another job coming up so I'm hoping for the best! I really really really hate how long I made you all wait for this, but I'm glad to finally have something for you so I hope you enjoy it!

Ten minutes. That’s how long it’s been since Katara and Zuko sat down at a table at the local mom and pop restaurant. They haven’t said one word to each other since they arrived. All Zuko has done is stare at her. He hasn’t touch the tea she ordered them the second they sat down. She sips it and sighs. Right as she’s about to say something, their waitress walks over and asks if they’re ready to order.

“We’ll just take two slices of your pie of the day please, thank you.” Katara smiles sweetly. The waitress nods and walks away. Zuko still says nothing.

He’s said two words in total to her since she said they were soulmates. It’s like he’s been in a daze since she told him to follow her and walked away. 

 

_“What?” Zuko asked with eyebrows still knitted in confusion._

_“I said we’re soulmates. Did no one really ever tell you what it's like the first time you meet your soulmate?"_

_Silence. Katara raises an eyebrow waiting for the man in front of her to speak. After a minute of them looking at each other, she sighs and waves a hand at him._

_"Okay, come on. Let's go."_

_"What?"_

_"I said let's go. Follow me."_

_Katara closes the hood of her car, locks it and starts walking away. Zuko stares at her for a few seconds before he scrambles to catch up. He catches her on the sidewalk in front of the grocery store where she leads him a minute down the street to a small family restaurant and follows her in."_

 

She can’t take it anymore. The silence is killing her. Every second that goes by, the more insecure she gets. Does he not like her? Is he disappointed? Why won’t he say anything?

She sighs again and says, “Are you going to say anything or are you going to continue to stare in disappointment?”

This seems to bring Zuko back to reality because he immediately looks taken aback.

“What?” He simply asks again.

“Oh, he speaks! Is that the only word you can say?” Katara sarcastically asks.

“No.” He responds with a frown. Why is she angry? What did he do?

“Wonderful. Think you can string enough together to let me down so I can tell you to leave and I can eat both pieces of pie myself?”

“What are you talking about? Let you down? Like as in reject you?” He sits up straighter and laces his fingers together on the table.

“Well, yeah. You haven’t said anything since we found out and have just been staring at me. What else am I supposed to think? You obviously are in shock over who your soulmate ended up being.”

Zuko starts to understand what is happening. She’s afraid he thinks she’s not good enough to be his soulmate. Though it is a rare occurrence, it has happened where someone isn’t pleased with their soulmates appearance and rejects them on the spot. Zuko knows all too well that even though you’re soulmates, it doesn’t stop one person from being an asshole. He has always had the thought of being rejected in the back of his mind thanks to his scare. That’s why he’s always left his hair longer, so he can cover most of it up.

“I am in shock, I’m not going to lie. You’ve got it all wrong though. I wasn’t staring because I’m disappointed. I was…. um.” He fidgets with his fingers and lowers his gaze.

“Are you trying to think of something nice to say so you don’t hurt my feelings? You can’t even make eye contact with me. Just spit it out already. You don’t like me. You should go.”

“No! I’m having a hard time because I think you’re beautiful!” Zuko yells in a panic. A few people look in their direction after his outburst. He looks away in embarrassment. A blush covers his face and neck.

When he gets enough courage, he peaks over at his soulmate to see her wide eyed and blushing. He smirks and chuckles. Thank God he’s not the only blushing mess here.

“Listen, I am not disappointed at all about you being my soulmate. If anything....”

“What?” She leans in.

“I- I thought you’d be disappointed when you saw me.” He frowns and looks at the table.

A few seconds go by before a hand is sweeping his hair to the side and rests on his scare. He closes his eyes and sighs.

“I always wondered what that pain I felt was. I cried so hard when I would feel your pain because I was so worried about you, my soulmate that I had yet to meet. I wanted nothing more than to comfort you, but I couldn’t. I’ve always wanted to know what happened, but that’s a conversation for another time. We’re not ready for that.”

Zuko places his hand over hers and leans into her touch, “It doesn’t bother you?”

She gives him a sad smile and says,“Not at all.” The fear he must have had over his soulmate seeing his scar. She feels sad that he had to go through that.

“I may not have physical scars, but my have mental and emotional ones, as I’m sure you’re aware of.” 

Zuko nods, “But as you said, that’s for another time.”

They smile at each other as their waitress delivers their pie slices.

“By the way, it seems we skipped the first step of a first time interaction. I don’t even know your name.”

“Well it’s hard to remember to introduce myself when I feel like my lungs have stopped working.”

“Are you saying I took your breath away?” Katara teases.

Zuko laughs, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

She blushes and looks away. It’s so strange how someone she just met could have such an effect on her. Now she understands why Sokka and Suki were inseparable. She can only imagine their feelings get more intense as they get to know each other more. She really didn’t believe them when they described how she’d feel when she met her soulmate. She was so wrong.

“My name is Zuko, by the way.” She looks back at him and smiles.

“Katara.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“So you think me and my name are beautiful?” She asks.

“Yes.” He answers. 

“You’re beautiful too, you know. Or maybe I should say handsome because men don’t like to be called beautiful and um… yeah so-” Katara started babbling before Zuko cut her off.

“It’s okay! I got what you meant.” He laughs. “My scar really doesn’t bother you though?”

“No. It’s part of who you are and doesn’t change what kind of person you are inside. I personally don’t care about what you look like because I feel drawn to my soulmate, but even with your scar, you’re still attractive. I plan on taking this soulmate thing seriously, so I’m not going to lie to you.” She says with sincerity.

Zuko smiles wide and pulls out his phone.

“Same here, so can I get your number to set up a proper date?”

Katara beams and hurriedly pulls out her phone to exchange numbers.

“Listen, I’ll walk you back to you car and give you a jump. It sounded as if your battery is dead so I can grab my jumper cables out of my car and help you.”

“Oh my God, thank you! I’d really appreciate it. I really need to get to a mechanic and have them check my whole car out. It probably needs so much work, but I’m such a poor college student.”

“Well I could always look over it sometime and help with what I know to help you save some money, but I may be able to point you in the direction of someone who wouldn’t charge an arm and a leg if need be.”

“That would be wonderful! Thank you!” Katara smiles from ear to ear.

Zuko can’t stop smiling the whole walk back to Katara’s car. Just her simple chatter and smiles directed towards him has the butterflies in his stomach going wild. He can’t wait to get to know her more and grow to love her properly. It may have been a long and hard road so far but, within the last hour, he feels it may have been worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently for an update! I'll try really hard to get chapters out sooner for you!


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